We wish you a Merry ChristmasThe Dover High School select ensemble, Madrigals, entertained with a Christmas medley of songs Monday morning at the Pope County Senior Wellness and Activity Center. The group of approximately 30 students sang six songs under the direction of Carrie Taylor and to Missy Hines on the piano. The group performed last week at the State Capitol and Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. It will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Dover High Sch...

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THE COURIER / Joshua MashonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Grant helps Arkansas Tech develop school leadersArkansas Tech University has received a check for $171,756 from the Walton Family Foundation as the first installment of a $575,349 grant that will allow for the continuation of the Leader-to-Leader (L2L) program through the Arkansas Center for Executive Leadership. L2L was introduced by Arkansas Tech in 2007 as a means of providing continuing education opportunities for school superintendents. The program was expanded to include school princi...

Arkansas Tech student wins Farm Bureau social media awardLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Farm Bureau recognized Arkansas Tech University student Lindsey Triplett with the farm group’s social media award for her agricultural advocacy efforts. Triplett received her award at the organization’s 81st annual convention Dec. 3 at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in Little Rock. Triplett, 20, from Conway, earned the 2015 AgVocate of the Year award. She is an agricultural business major, with an emphasis in p...

U of O receives $740,000 gift to aid student study abroadCLARKSVILLE — University of the Ozarks received a bequest of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from the estate of Virginia L. King to endow a fund that will aid students in pursuing study abroad and international program opportunities. King, who died in 2014 in Fayetteville, at the age of 94, was a long-time supporter of Ozarks, providing nearly $1 million to the university, in her lifetime, for scholarships and academic opportunities...

Pottsville woman completes service in FEMA CorpsDENVER — Savannah Connerly, 23, of Pottsville is one of 100 Denver-based young people who recently completed a term of service in FEMA Corps, part of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) solely devoted to emergency management. During her 10-month term of service, Connerly provided important support to the nation’s emergency management system. Serving on teams of 10 to 12 people, FEMA Corps members travel to disaster-affected...

Bridge results (Dec. 13, 2015)Monday Duplicate Bridge met on Dec. 7, 2015. The first place North/South winners were Peggy Griffin and Nancy Lassiter. The second place North/South winners were Dale Lassiter and Trilby Mauls. The first place East/West winners were Tom Hlass and Joe Moore. The second place East/West winners were Vernon Collins and Carole Barton. The next game will be at 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, at the Russellville Senior Center. Anyone needing a partner, call 4...

RHS students attend UAMS orthopaedic workshopsThirty to 40 senior high school girls from central Arkansas, including Russellville, took part in the national Perry Initiative workshop on bone repairs, using orthopaedic and engineering skills. The sessions were to encourage women to become orthopaedic surgeons and engineers. Students learned how to suture, apply casting materials and attach devices used to set and stabilize broken bones alongside UAMS staff including orthopaedic foot specia...

Community photo: Pottery Worx speaks to LionsLion Mike Smith (left) introduced Friendship Community Care Art and Business Development manager Amy Miller at a recent club meeting. Miller told Lions about the subsidiary, Pottery Worx. Pottery Worx’s mission is to promote community integration for people with developmental disabilities by providing therapeutic, hands-on training and allowing those people to express themselves through the creation of pottery. The Pottery Worx workshop and st...

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THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Students conduct ‘Shop With a Cadet’Students enrolled in the criminal justice program at the Arkansas Tech Career Center (ATCC) participated in the third annual Shop with a Cadet program Tuesday. The students raised $175 that gave nine area children the opportunity to purchase Christmas gifts for themselves as well as their family members. Each child was partnered with a criminal justice student as well as a police officer. At the conclusion of the shopping, students as well as ...

Council gets aquatic center updateRepresentatives of ETC Architects and Van Horn Construction updated the Russellville City Council on the proposed $5.75 million aquatic center project during a meeting last week at City Hall. Some parts of electrical and plumbing designs are 100 completed, aldermen learned from ETC project manager William R. “Bill” Andrews. A lot of time has been spent on the design of the structure itself, he said. “The building has been rotated 180 degrees s...

Officers graduate from Law Enforcement Supervision ClassThe Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and the Russellville Police Department (RPD) are proud to announce the graduation of four officers from the School of Law Enforcement Supervision (SLES) Class. Representing RPD are Sgt. Phillip Varnell and Sgt. Monty Bonds. The two deputies from PCSO were Captain Scott Rentfro and Lt. Jeff Noyes. The RPD and the PCSO are dedicated to serving our community and understands that providing the best education...

Commission to plan 50th anniversaryMack Hollis told the Russellville Recreation and Parks Commission during its December meeting Tuesday that the department will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016. “We’ve grown tremendously in the last 10 years since our 40th anniversary,” the Recreation and Parks director said. “I would like to begin work on a plaque that lists all of the commissioners and do the same with Recreation and Parks directors and employees going back to the 1960...

Paul Harris and The World Famous Cleverlys Trio to perform at Jan. 9 at CHSStraight from Branson, Paul Harris and The Cleverly Trio will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Clarksville High School Auditorium. Paul Harris and the World Famous Cleverlys feature a high-energy variety show filled with hilarious comedy and toe tappin’ bluegrass. For over 20 years, Arkansas native Paul Harris has built his career touring the comedy circuit, opening for major acts like Blake Shelton, Jeff Foxworthy, Band Perry,and Little Big To...

Arkansas Tech University honors alumniThe African-American Chapter of the Arkansas Tech University Alumni Association honored six people for their many contributions to the campus community and beyond during the inaugural Arkansas Tech Black Alumni Weekend on Oct. 9-10. The honorees were recognized during a banquet at Williamson Hall Dining Room following the Homecoming football game on Oct. 10. The award winners are: • Titus Mills, junior from North Little Rock, outstanding stude...

Community photo: Happy DollarsThe Russellville Rotary Club presented their quarterly Happy Dollars to the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAB) program in the Russellville school district. The JAG program was able to use the funds from the Rotarians to take students to the Paris Ropes Challenge Course to practice leadership and mentorship skills. Pictured are Rotary president Dr. John Krohn (from left), JAG program coordinator Linda Newby and JAG students Kenneth Thomas and T...

Light up for Christmas, charityTurn from South Arkansas Avenue onto East 17th Street, drive a couple of blocks and you’ll come across a particularly bright spot of Christmas magic and cheer. At 237 E. 17th St., 16-year-old Trevor Coats, a junior at Russellville High School, has set up his annual Christmas light show in his front yard. The teen has set up a light display each holiday season since he was in sixth grade. “He plans all year long and he really looks forward to i...

Community photo: Boys & Girls Club speaks to LionsExecutive Director of the River Valley Boys & Girls Club Lyle Manning (center) told Russellville Lions that the club has been a positive place for kids in the community for over 25 years. The average attendance is 300 kids in the after school programs from 3-6 p.m. at the centers in Russellville, Dardanelle and London. The program costs parents $20 per child for the school year. In addition, the club feeds each child a meal on arrival, plus a ...

Helping those less fortunateThird grade students at Pottsville Elementary School kicked off the holiday season before Thanksgiving with students arranging packed gifts for children around the world who are living in extreme poverty or who are affected by disease, natural disasters and war. The students collected enough gifts and hygiene items to fill 93 shoe boxes through the Operation Christmas Child project. The boxes the students collected were sent to Honduras.